Why Katniss Everdeen Should Not Be A Barbie Doll

penvellyn:

peetamuhlark:

What the fuck is this, though? Like, really. Why would people do this to Katniss? I can understand some of the other merchandise. Though, I do know that the merchandise is mass produced and shit, but this is overdoing it a little bit and I know that I’m not the only one who thinks that it’s a little overdone. How can a girl who is supposed to be empowering females be turned into a Barbie doll?

Barbie dolls are one of the toys that are encouraging young children to fit into gender roles. Women do not need to fit in the mold that the media had created for them. They don’t have to be stay at home moms. They don’t have to take care of babies. They don’t have to be cooks for their husbands. They don’t need a man to be happy or fulfilled. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg with Barbie dolls. My main concern about this is that Barbie dolls are hurtful in a way. They are tall, skinny dolls who are constantly used as an example to what people, women especially, should look like.

I’m in disbelief that the people behind this merchandise thought that this was cool. How is this a good idea at all? I get certain parts of it, like the fact that she’ll probably have her Mockingjay dress or something like that, but the Barbie doll itself is such a foil to the actual movie and book. I feel as if this is just pushing the message among young children, girls mostly,  that this book and movie are all about Katniss looking pretty and that it’s nothing more than a book about a girl.

Katniss should be portrayed in a way that she was in the book. She wasn’t bound by gender or her looks. She was a strong, powerful girl with ideas that shook her entire nation. If anything, this seems so out of character for Katniss. In the books, she always felt uncomfortable about being dressed up in the Capitol. All of this is so out of touch with the book and what it is about. I can’t stand it.

Except Barbie is one of the most career-driven fictional women ever. Police officer Barbie, veterinarian Barbie, rocket scientist Barbie. I have never bought into the argument that the Barbie brand promotes harmful gender stereotypes. Yeah, she’s buxom, but she is also one of the fiercest, most independent, actually inspirational toys around. With her new video games and movies, she’s even more of a role model, someone who not only can do ANYTHING but who also promotes healthy moral values about friendship and love and ~jaaaaaazz.

So essentially, we have a franchise of dolls featuring original characters, but Mattel also makes dolls for other movies. They had several different models for Tangled, for instance, which tie into the Disney film. Transforming Rapunzel into doll form does not in any way suggest that her LOOKS are important. Girls love Rapunzel because she’s an artist and a dreamer, not because she’s thin.

Here’s how little girls play with Barbie dolls: they see a character that they love, someone who is dedicated to doing the right thing no matter what, someone they see as beautiful not because of the way they look but because of the way they act, someone who is confident in themselves, who chases after their dreams, who is strong enough to raise a family of LITTLE SISTERS on her own. (Oh, Barbie Roberts, you are forever incredible.) If they look at her and think “I wish I could be her” it has nothing to do with wishing they were blond and skinny. It has everything to do with seeing a female character they admire, someone that they would consider a friend.

And that’s what Katniss Everdeen is. 

Uhm. I don’t know where you go your information, sweetie, but as I said earlier, for every Barbie there is that has a good role as a doll, there’s another ten that come out of the shitter that are all like the others. Slim, and degrading to women. Barbies do not represent what a woman should be most of the time. Most of the time, they are presented as blond and figured as if they are ‘perfect’ in every single way. 

Katniss is hardly like this, and I’m sad to see her being put on the same level.

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  23. catscatscatscatscatscatscats87 reblogged this from -everdeen and added:
    Both make stellar points. My problem with a Katniss Everdeen doll, and a lot of the merchandise, is that it’s everything...
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  26. shesmyplusone reblogged this from -everdeen and added:
    Honestly, can any of you imagine a Katniss barbie doll? With messy hair in a braid that looks like it was shoved in a...
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